Letters to the Editor

I have known Ms. Wesson for a number of years professionally. We worked together at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado and have remained in contact thereafter. While soft-spoken, Ms. Wesson was a very aggressive prosecutor. Ms. Wesson is one of the most talented litigators I have come in contact with, and the comments suggesting she was in over her head about the Churchill matter are uninformed. As any attorney will tell you, Ms. Wesson is extremely detailed in everything she does.

Being Hispanic, I have a pretty good idea of Ms. Wesson's concerns for minorities and would not doubt for a minute that on the committee, she was the most concerned about making sure that Mr. Churchill received a fair investigation. Having talked with other professors at the University of Colorado, I believe the real problem seems to be that at the time professors like Mr. Churchill were hired, there was little background investigation into an applicant's qualifications and history. This has apparently changed recently. This would seem to be the more interesting story, especially if other professors were hired without a thorough background check.

In any event, Michael Roberts owes Ms. Wesson an apology. I would venture to guess he has not spoken to Ms. Wesson or anyone else who could have provided him with accurate information.

Charles H. Torres, Esq.
Denver

Michael Roberts replies: I hope Mr. Torres reads legal documents more closely than he does newspaper columns. My comments were solely about the photograph of Ms. Wesson that recently ran on the cover of the Denver Post, not about Ms. Wesson herself. If anyone owes the professor an apology, it's the person at the Post who chose to run such a mediocre, unflattering picture on page one.